Hospital Again....
 

This past Thursday, I had dozed off in my recliner and awoke about 2 pm with chest pain, pressure, short of breath, pain radiating up my neck and shoulders.....all those obvious symptoms. I waited awhile hoping it would go away, but no such luck. My hairdresser was coming at 4 pm so by that time I decided to call my GP's office. Naturally no doctors were there so the nurse told me to go to the ER. Soooo.......called 911. In no time flat, the intensive care unit, ambulance and around eight cars were parked outside. How embarrassing!!

It took them four "sticks" to find a vein to start an IV -- eventually on the underside of my right arm between the wrist and elbow. Then all the bloodwork began at the hospital. Was afraid to have a drink of water, thought my body would be like a sprinkler!! This is a small, country hospital without a telemetry floor, so they put me in ICU for monitoring for two days. Oh yes, it was Atrial Fibrillation which I've had twice before. I've been on warfarin (blood thinner) for 20 months and now Digoxin has been added. It wasn't a heart attack, thank you Lord, just something that happens -- as if I don't have enough to deal with!

It took over 24 hours and two different IV meds before the heart converted back to a regular beat. My son brought me home Saturday. Now I'm just really tired.

But it was great to get back home and into my usual routine. Being on familiar turf is so much better than in the hospital where the nurses are trying to help me move, but actually making matters worse. One thing that most people don't appreciate in the hospital, having a catheter put in, was a "God-send" for me! Didn't have to worry about accidents plus they wouldn't even let me sit up in bed for 24 hours.

As the doctor covering for my GP said, "All diseases are awful, but MS really sucks!" I couldn't agree more!!!! Hopefully this won't happen again for a long time. :)

Judy!!!!! OMG, how scary...WOW! I am so proud of you for calling 911 and getting yourself to the hospital for help. You are my hero.:hug:

I am so glad that it was not a heart attack. What causes what you had? Can it, happening again, be prevented?

I'm happy you are home and all is well. Rest Rest Rest and feel better soon..:hug:

Oh, Judy! :hug: So sorry to hear about this but glad you are home and on the mend!

On the one hand - ((((( hug for Judy )))))

On the other hand - cut that out!

Feel better, OK? OK!

Judy,

Have they ever looked into Supraventricular tachycardia. What you describe would happen to my husband and eventually thats what they Dx'd and finally fixed it through a simple ablation procedure. Maybe ask your doc about it?

Glad to hear you are back home and doing better.

This last statement surprises me. Not that MS sucks, we all know that, but the fact that your doctor would even mention it when your diagnosis was Atrial Fibrillation. That's what surprises me.

As much as MS peeves us all, we can't blame everything on MS, and AF is one condition I've never heard mentioned in regards to Multiple Sclerosis.

I may be wrong and believe me I often am, so correct me please if you have information to the contrary, but the AF sounds to me like a totally different medical condition.

I'm sorry that you went through this scary time but I'm glad that you were able to get immediate emergency care, because your symptoms sure did sound a lot like those of a heart attack. I'm so pleased that it wasn't.

AF can be serious though, but I guess you already know that, and Digoxin has been the medication of choice for many years for AF. I'm happy to know that you're finally on that one.

Sending you some hugs, and I hope you've had your last trip to hospital for this condition. :hug:

sending hugs and prayers :hug:

very scary.........:hug::hug::hug: glad you are feeling better:)

:hug::hug: Sorry to hear you had a scarey time. Feel better soon. :hug::hug:

Oh Judy, I am SO sorry that you had to go through all of that - that must have been soo scary for you!:hug:

I'm so glad to hear that you are back home and that you are on the mend. Please take care of yourself and don't overdo it too much. You are in my thoughts and prayers and i'm sending many pain-free hugs your way!!!:hug:

Holy Cow Judy! So glad your'e back home and doing OK, but I hope everyone sees this thread, as you did the right thing by calling 911. So many people wait and then it could be too late. What an eye opener this is.

Sending hugs for your continual healing.

Oh and I agree, no more of that, Missy!!! {{{Judy}}}}

what a scary experience.
i'm so glad you got good tx and you're home now and able to rest.
you were right to call 911. going in a car to the hospital can be dangerous if someone believes they're having a heart attack.

the heart can stop in the car and the person is in real trouble.
whereas if you call 911 they can monitor you the entire time and tx as needed til you get to the ER.

i hope the medication takes care of the problem.
get well soon.

JUDY!!!! Check in, Honey. Are you OK? Thinking about you.

:hug::hug::hug:

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!! You guys are the greatest -- and I'm sure going to try and not do that again!!!!! It was really hard dialing 911, always hate to "bother" people like most of us probably feel, but figured if someone tried getting me into their car, I might really have a heart attack since my legs are so stiff most of the time!! The EMS's/Paramedics??? were really nice and made me feel comfortable. They seemed glad to have something exciting to do!!! LOL!!!

I'll have to google that two-word thingy mentioned, never heard of it before. And koala, my doctor wasn't connecting the A-fib to the MS, just that everything is extra difficult for me, like moving, sitting up, etc. He was only referring to the disease in general, not that the two things were connected. I did have a heart murmur as a child, then was diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse in my 20's and have been on a beta blocker for many years. Sometimes there are specific causes for A-fib like thyroid, diabetes, etc., but then it just happens out of the blue (like mine) also. A pacemaker was mentioned perhaps down the road. Guess they can slow the heart down or speed it up, whichever is necessary.

I'm still REALLY tired. Hope I didn't catch some kind of "bug" in the hospital. :( The nurses in the ER were talking about all the various types of flu, viruses, coming in this winter. It's difficult for me to tell right away with the fibromyalgia. It feels like I'm getting the flu most of the time anyway.

Today I was reading through the AARP Bulletin -- yes, I'm that old...lol -- and saw an article about "Superbugs" and how some 90,000 Americans die in the hospital from them every year. Now that I didn't need to see right now!!!! Alot of it could be prevented just by thorough hand washing.

Thanks again so much for all of your concern and love. I could feel it coming right through the screen!!!!!!!!!

Lots of hugs for everyone and hope you're all doing as well as possible! ((((((((Everyone)))))))) :)

So Sorry you had such a difficult and scary time, Judy, and I'm glad you're back home & able to get some rest now.

That condition has been linked to MS occasionally. Apparently it is connected to our Autonomic nervous system, which can be damaged by MS. I don't think it's commonly associated though.

Rest, and get well soon.

Cherie

Thank you for your kind words, Cherie. I had wondered if the two could be connected, MS and A-fib, since I had read long ago that it's possible for a lesion to form in just the right place to stop the heart beating???? Can't remember where I heard this.......maybe b-talk? I'll have to do some research. Thanks again!!!! :)